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On McPig's wish List - Lying in the Deep

 

Lying in the Deep

by Diana Urban

A juicy mystery of jealousy, love, and betrayal set on a Semester at Sea-inspired cruise ship, with a diverse cast of delightfully suspicious characters who’ll leave you guessing with every jaw-dropping twist.

After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Jade couldn't be more ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—11 countries in 4 months, all from the luxurious Campus on Board ship—and to wedge an entire globe between her and the people who broke her heart.

But when Jade discovers the backstabbing couple are also setting sail, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends begin to drop like flies, Jade and her new crush must race to clear her name and find the killer they’re trapped at sea with….before anyone else winds up in body bags.

Expected publication: May 2nd 2023

We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep - Book Review

 

We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep

by Andrew Kelly Stewart

What is it about:

Remy is a Chorister, one of the chosen few rescued from the surface world and raised to sing the Hours in a choir of young boys. Remy lives with a devoted order of monks who control the Leviathan, an aging nuclear submarine that survives in the ocean’s depths. Their secret mission: to trigger the Second Coming when the time is right, ready to unleash its final, terrible weapon.

But Remy has a secret too— she’s the only girl onboard. It is because of this secret that the sub’s dying caplain gifts her with the missile’s launch key, saying that it is her duty to keep it safe. Safety, however, is not the sub’s priority, especially when the new caplain has his own ideas about the Leviathan’s mission. Remy’s own perspective is about to shift drastically when a surface-dweller is captured during a raid, and she learns the truth about the world.

At once lyrical and page-turning, We Shall Sing a Song Into the Deep is a captivating debut from newcomer author Andrew Kelly Stewart.

What did I think of it:

This is a really beautiful post-apocalyptic story.

Remy is rescued from a dying world to sing in a choir in a nuclear submarine. Their mission: to wait for the day when it's time to release the last judgement and then sink into the deep.

I read this novella in one sitting! I was too eager to find out what happened to bring the world to this state, what will happen to those on board the submarine, and especially if Remy and her best friend would get some kind of happy ending.

The mood of this story was claustrophobic and tense. Not everyone seemed to have the same ideas about the mission of the Leviathan, and there's jealousy, strife, and more between the crew on board. When Remy learns there's more to the stories she's been told, she has to decided who to believe and what she should do. This story is a much about growing up and finding your own way in life as it is an dark and atmospheric post-apocalyptic tale. 

All in all this is a hauntingly beautiful novella that left me wanting more. You bet I'll keep an eye on more by Andrew Kelly Stewart.

Why should you read it:

It's a beautifully dark and atmospheric read 

Teaser Tuesdays - Saint Death's Daughter

And why should there be? Lanie wondered. After all, there are no Skaki sky wizards anymore. Grandpa Rad saw to that.

(page 65, Saint Death's Daughter by C.S.E. Cooney)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

What Moves the Dead - Book Review

What Moves the Dead

by T. Kingfisher

What is it about:

From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's classic "The Fall of the House of Usher."

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

What did I think of it:

I totally pre-ordered this book because it sounded cool and I couldn't resist that cover! (The end-papers have a really cool illustration as well.)

And this is indeed a really cool read!

It's a retelling of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher." , but you can definitely read it without having read Poe's original. It's atmospheric, disturbing, and delightfully creepy.

I loved Alex, they're a great hero: down to earth, pragmatic, but also caring towards their friends. And their narration brings some humor to an otherwise creepy tale. Having read a lot of Poe's works, the plot wasn't unfamiliar, but the way Kingfisher gave it life and brought new things to it made that I was invested from the start. 

A warning to those who might have read other books by Kingfisher (A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking or Paladin's Grace for example): Kingfisher is a pen name used by Ursula Vernon for anything that doesn't fit the Ursula Vernon name, so this book is very different than some of the other books written under the Kingfisher name.

You bet i'll be trying to find more creepy, atmospheric beauty among the Kingfisher books though! 

Why should you read it:

It's a delightfully atmospheric read.

Bloodchild - Quick Book Review

 

Bloodchild

by Octavia E. Butler

What is it about:

Set on a distant planet, Bloodchild is Octavia E. Butler’s shattering meditation on symbiosis, love, power and tough choices. It won the Hugo, Locus, Nebula and Science Fiction Chronicle awards and is widely regarded as one of her greatest works.

Years ago, a group known as the Terrans left Earth in search of a life free of persecution. Now they live alongside the Tlic, an alien race who face extinction; their only chance of survival is to plant their larvae inside the bodies of the humans.

When Gan, a young boy, is chosen as a carrier of Tlic eggs, he faces an impossible dilemma: can he really help the species he has grown up with, even if it means sacrificing his own life?

What did I think of it:

I really liked the writing style of this short story, and the imagery, but I didn't particularly like the actual story. Maybe I was not in the mood for what this story was trying to do, or it could be that I just didn't get it. Either way I was left underwhelmed.

I might try something else by Butler some day.

Why should you read it:

It's regarded as one of Butler's greatest works.

On McPig's Radar* - Leech

 

Leech

by Hiron Ennes

MEET THE CURE FOR THE HUMAN DISEASE

In an isolated chateau, as far north as north goes, the baron’s doctor has died. The doctor’s replacement has a mystery to solve: discovering how the Institute lost track of one of its many bodies.

For hundreds of years the Interprovincial Medical Institute has grown by taking root in young minds and shaping them into doctors, replacing every human practitioner of medicine. The Institute is here to help humanity, to cure and to cut, to cradle and protect the species from the apocalyptic horrors their ancestors unleashed.

In the frozen north, the Institute's body will discover a competitor for its rung at the top of the evolutionary ladder. A parasite is spreading through the baron's castle, already a dark pit of secrets, lies, violence, and fear. The two will make war on the battlefield of the body. Whichever wins, humanity will lose again.

Expected publication: September 27th 2022

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*For those who wonder: The difference between books on my wish list and books on my radar is that books that are on my radar will most definitely be bought/pre-ordered asap. Books on my wish list have less urgency.

Book Review - Taken by the T-Rex

 

Taken by the T-Rex

by Christie Sims

What is it about:

Drin is her tribe’s chief huntress; she lives for the thrill of the hunt. Men and sex hold no allure for her, as Drin has never found a partner to satisfy her. When a T-Rex descends upon her village, destroying it, Drin demands that the tribe’s hunters go in search of the beast and slaughter it. Opting for safety instead of revenge, the tribe moves to a new location, hoping that the big beast won’t follow them.

What did I think of it:

So...

I read this book as it was the WTF Read for a Facebook group I'm a part of. And I can honestly say: WTF indeed!

For a 16 page long story it takes a long time for Drin to actually encounter the T-Rex, and there's a totally unnecessary scene where Drin is hallucinating shit. 

Then there's the "Taken by the T-Rex"part of the story...

WTF? What the Ever Loving F? 

That's all I will say!

Why should you read it:

Why indeed?

Teaser Tuesdays - Just Like Home

 

The bugs are outside. The sounds are inside. They're inside for sure.

(page 31, Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey)

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, previously hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!